Apparatus for making continuous sheet glass



Nm. l, i924.

J. P. CROWLEY APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONTINUOUS SHEET GLASS Filed March 24 1919 www3 ATTORNEY Patented Nov, li, lggd.

JOSEPH P. CROWLEY, OF TOLEDO, CHIS, ASSEGNO@ TO TH LIEBEY-OWENS SHEET GLASS COMPANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CRPORATDN OF OHIO.

APPARATUS FOB 'MAKING CONTEIIUCUS SHEET GLASS.

Application tiled March 24, 1919. Serial No, 284,708.,

To all whom tmmy/ conce/m.'

Be it known that l, JosneH P. CROWLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of ()hio, have invented a new and useful 11nprovement in an Apparatus for Making Continuous Sheet Glass, of which the foilowingl is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in making,` sheet glass in which a shell or cylinder of noncorroding metal is used to bend the sheet from a vertical to a horizontal position. said cylinder being driven or rotated by frictional means7 said means consisting' of power driven shafts, two or more in number, extending through the above c vlinder and pressing against the inside of said cylinder, as shown in the, affeonlpauving,l drawing. The objects of my iu'iprovement are first to provide a means to assist the sheet as it is drawn so as to reduce the. stretching` and shrending ot' the glass when in a horizontal position, second, io provide large openings on each end of the cylinder for injecting a cooling fiuid wheneveraud wherever required, and third, to provide an even and regular pull to the sheet so that the drawing strain is free and not jerky.

l attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accouipanying drawings, in which- Fig. l shows a longitudinal section thru the apparatus on line 1 1 of Fig. 2.

.,Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the. apparatus showing' a longitudinal section thru the cylinder and drivers en line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Referring` to Fi l, the hollow cylinder .l, is mounted ou the. drive shafts or rolls 5, four such shafts beine; shown but two or more, could be used. rThe drive shafts 5, are mounted in suitable bearings l0, and have shoulders il, which'allow the cylinder 4, to [ioat within predetermined limits. The gears 7, are non-rotatably mounted on the ends of shafts 5, and are driven by means of gear S, secured to the power driven shaft t). Beyond the cylinder are rollers 6, which are power drivenand afford the necessary draught to carry the sheet 3, on thru a lehr. The sheet 3, is drawn from; a mass of molten glass 2, which is contained in the tank l, and bent over the cylinder or roller et, and carried away on the rollers 6.

Those familiar with the art, are aware of the importance of keeping this bending` means cool enough to avoid shrending" the glass. To avoid both has been a very diicult problem and requires the closest attention. B v using this type of apparatus, one ma)v readily detect the hot and cold spots in the c vlinder andcan apply the cooling fluid accordingl u By making the cylinder t as big` as po ible and supporting it on drive rolls 5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, large openings are formed which can easily admit any cooling` fiuid, means or apparatus necessary to regulate the temperature required at this point to insure the best results on the sheet of glass 3. Shrends are sometimes caused by scratching due to the glass slipping on a hard metal surface. With 'this apparatus, the glass can travel 'with the floating cylinder 4, and all slipping would take place between the cylinder Li, and the drive shafts This would avoid scratches and other defects caused by slippage between the sheet of glass and the metal cylinder.

l have not shown or described in detail a complete continuous drawing apparatus but oni);7 that portion thereof which carries and. bends the sheet from a vertical to a horizon tai plane. Any suitable form of mechanism for applying; draught to the sheet and maintainingv the width thereof could be used with the bending,V device forming the subject matter of this invention.

Having described mv invention what l claim is:

i. ln an apparatus for drawing continuous sheet glass, a bendingI device for the sheet, con'iprisin` a rotatable drum, and roller supporting` means for the drum through which means the drum is frictionally driven.

2. ln an apparatus for drawing 'continuous sheet glass, a bending device for the glass sheet comprising; a hollow cylindrical drum and means located interiorly of the drum for frictioually supportingand 10- tating said drum.

3. ln an apparatus for drawing` continu-- ous sheet verticalllxT from a molten mass and then bending the sheetinto a horizontal plane, a bending; device comprising a hollow metallic drum and means located partially within the drum for frictionally supporting and rotating the drum.

4. In an apparatus for drawing continuous sheet glass, a bending device for the sheet comprising a hollow metallic cylinder,

' a plurality of drive shafts within the cylinder Jrictionally contacting)r and supporting the same and means for supporting the drive shafts.

5. In an apparatus for drawing continuous sheet glass, a bending device for the sheet, con'iprising a tubular metal roller, and supports rotating on xed axesand engaging the inner surface of the tube at spaced intervals, so that large portions of the ends oi' the roller are 'always open and never occupied by any rotating parts, whereby non-rotary coolingr devices may be inserted and applied locally to the interior of the tube.

6. In an apparatus for drawing continuous sheet glass, a bending device comprising a hollow metallic drum over which the sheet is bent, a plurality of spaced drive .shafts within the drum frictionallyY supportingr and drivingf the saine7 and bearings for supporting the drive shafts` the contacting surfaces of the glass sheet and drum being more extensive than the contacting surfaces of the drum and drive shafts.

7. In an apparatus for drawing continuousnsheet glass a bendin device comprising a hollow floating cyizinder over which the glass Sheet is bent and roller mea-ns for supporting the cylinder', and frictionally rotating the same in the direc-tion of travel of the sheet. r 8. In apparatus for drawing sheet glass, the combination of a roll for changing the direction of the sheet of glass being drawn, and a secondroll disposed in supporting contact with the said first-named roll but not in contact with the glass sheet.

9. In apparatus for drawing sheet glass, the combination of a roll for changing the direction of the sheet of glass being drawn, and a second roll disposed in supporting contact with the said first-named roll throughout substantially itsA entire length but not in contact with the glass sheet JOSEPH P. CROVLEY.

Witnesses: y

J. C. CROWLEY, C. T. CROWLEY. 

